AFN National Trials: Wind stops Okagbare from becoming joint-fastest woman alive

 Wind stopped Blessing Okagbare from becoming the joint-fastest woman alive when she ran a time of 9.63m at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria National Trials held at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos on Thursday.

Okagbare stood out among other runners at the women’s 100m final when she equalled the World Lead and only the second-fastest time ever in the world set by Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Kingston, Jamaica on June 5, sending the crowd, which included Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare into wild jubilation.

The celebrations soon died down after it was announced that the race was ran at a non-legal wind on 2.7m/s.

The wind also ensured that Rosemary Chukwuma, who came second in 11.07s failed to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, even though she met the Olympics qualification standards of 11.15m in the women’s 100m.

Speaking after the race, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, said despite the disappointment caused by the wind, it showed Nigerian athletes were in good shape ahead of the Olympics. Punch